After Michigan’s 69-60 victory at Minnesota Thursday night, here’s a look at what’s being said about the game and the Wolverines:
Andrew Kahn, MLive.com: Whack-a-mole: Michigan’s hot second half leads to win at Minnesota
Jon Teske shot arrows right through Minnesota's upset bid. Michigan's center came up big Thursday, tallying 17 points, seven rebounds, five blocks, and a couple of late daggers in Michigan's 69-60 win.
Michigan (24-3, 13-3) remained in a three-way tie for first in the Big Ten. The Wolverines host one of the co-leaders, Michigan State, on Sunday.
After a sluggish first half, Michigan caught fire after halftime to pull away. A 10-point lead quickly became 15, then as many as 21. Minnesota (17-10, 7-9), in desperate need of a victory for its NCAA Tournament résumé, cut the margin to 11 with 4:45 left.
That's when Teske struck, hitting consecutive 3s and sending imaginary arrows towards the Michigan bench as Williams Arena fell silent.
Jordan Poole drained five 3s and led all scorers with 22, shaking a brief shooting slump. Ignas Brazdeikis added 10 and Charles Matthews had nine for the victors. Zavier Simpson had 12 assists.
Michigan, which shot just 3-for-22 from 3 in a buzzer-beating win over Minnesota earlier this season, went 13-for-28 (46 percent) in the rematch. Minnesota had some success inside -- the starting frontcourt of Jordan Murphy and Daniel Oturu scored a combined 36 points -- but made just 1-of-10 3s.
An afterthought.
Not enough depth.
Barely a two seed.
That’s how many national pundits have assessed Michigan heading down the stretch, even with a 23-3 record in one of the best conferences in college basketball.
The Wolverines, though, showed their teeth in dismantling a desperate Minnesota team, dominating from start to finish in proving they’re serious about hanging another banner.
The 69-60 win wasn’t nearly as close at the final score; in fact, ‘defensive coordinator’ and assistant Luke Yaklich might be the only guy restless tonight after the Gophers hit the 60 mark on their last shot, and that’s only because he’s wired a bit differently.
When he reflects, though, he’ll look fondly on yet another defensive gem that held Minnesota to 18 first half points and allowed the Wolverines plenty of margin for error on offense.
They picked it up in the second half, however, scoring 41 points and making 13 of 28 triples total (46.4 percent) to win going away. Junior center Jon Teske missed his first three but made two huge ones down the stretch back-to-back to put the game out of reach after a Gophers mini-run.
“We made shots,” Beilein said with a shrug and a grin when asked why the offense looked better Thursday. “It’s that simple. I’d love to figure it out, why Jordan Poole can have the same shots and they don’t go in, or Jon Teske.
“That was the big difference in the game. We’ve just got to continue to try and get good shots. Obviously, the better the shot, the more chance it’s going to go in.”
It was only a matter of time for Poole. The sophomore shooting guard made five of his 10 attempts (but missed three of four free throws down the stretch), something that needs to continue.
Fans still cringe when Teske shoots them, but he’s now making 36.7 percent in conference play.
Orion Sang, The Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball takes care of business ahead of MSU clash
The game had barely ended, when a question about the next game was asked.
Understandably.
No. 7 Michigan basketball beat Minnesota, 69-60, at Williams Arena on Thursday night. The Wolverines led for 36 minutes and 19 seconds, made 13-of-28 3s and held the Gophers to 18 first-half points.
It was a thorough beatdown, a game that was not as close as the final score implied, and it will be a game that fades quickly from the public's consciousness because of what comes next: No. 10 Michigan State.
Sunday's game has been approaching for quite some time, and the ramifications have been clear all season long.
Both teams have been the class of the Big Ten and sit tied atop the standings; now they will play twice in as many weeks. Each game will have enormous implications not only for the Big Ten title race but also for the rivalry, which has swung like a pendulum in recent years under coach John Beilein.
There is a lot on the line. The Wolverines haven't talked about it. But they surely understand it.
Thursday, though, was an exercise in restraint. Michigan didn't want to get caught looking ahead — and succeeded.
James Hawkins, The Detroit News: In 'tournament' mode, Michigan handles Minnesota as MSU clash looms
The second meeting was starting to unfold like the first one.
Michigan was seemingly in control and held a comfortable lead with 10 minutes to go before Minnesota started to slowly crawl back into it.
But this time, there were no last-second heroics needed for the No. 7 Wolverines. Instead, junior center Jon Teske nailed a pair of crucial 3-pointers to shut the door on the Gophers in a 69-60 win Thursday at Williams Arena.
Sophomore guard Jordan Poole finished with 22 points and made five 3-pointers, Teske added 17 points and five blocks, and freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis scored 10 for Michigan (24-3, 13-3 Big Ten), which maintained its footing atop the Big Ten standings heading into Sunday’s highly anticipated showdown against No. 10 Michigan State.
"I don't think with our guys Michigan State was ever on our mind one minute," Michigan coach John Beilein said. "We know this is like a tournament right now. Each game we play is going to allow you to advance to the next round. We looked at it a little bit like that and we looked at it as this is a tournament type of team ... and you've got them first.
"You can't go and lose and then say, 'We're going to win a championship.' We love the competition we have with Michigan State. We're trying to win a championship. And to win a championship, you've got to beat Minnesota."
Jordan Murphy had 18 points and 15 rebounds and Daniel Oturu had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota (17-10, 7-9), which shot 54.8 percent in the second half after scoring 18 points on 22.2-percent shooting in the first half.
With the defense getting it done in the opening 20 minutes, Michigan’s offense got in on the act and caught fire in a hurry with a 12-2 run to put Minnesota in a 40-22 hole with 15:51 remaining.
Theo Mackie, The Michigan Daily: Michigan rediscovers its identity in win over Minnesota
Thursday night, faced with an opponent who checked both those boxes, the Wolverines did exactly that, beating Minnesota, 69-60.
In the entirety of Michigan’s 31-game schedule, there may have been no easier game to overlook than its trip to Minneapolis. For months, the season has built to a crescendo of the Wolverines’ weekend showdown with Michigan State. The two schools have resided at the top of the conference standings all season, ranking in the nationwide top-10 together, bound on a collision course that will meet its destination over the next two weeks — in Ann Arbor on Sunday and then 13 days later in East Lansing.
So when Michigan’s offense came out flat against the Golden Gophers, hitting just 11-of-31 shots before halftime, it would have been easy to concede that this wasn’t its day and move on to bigger things. Simpson and Matthews, though, wouldn’t let that happen.
“They stay on us,” Poole said. “They know that the game can change at any point in time and runs happen so we gotta stay locked in 24/7. Being able to have figures like that who've been in situations like this before is huge.”
Led by its two leaders — who finished with five of its six steals — the Wolverines’ defense paved the way for a dominating win that could have been anything but, considering the offensive struggles
If Michigan’s first-half offense was ugly, Minnesota’s teetered on unwatchable. When the officials came back onto the court minutes after the halftime buzzer to rule that Daniel Oturu’s putback had beat the clock, it sent the Williams Arena crowd into a frenzy — out of reprieve as much as joy. After all, the points merely decided which pitiful point total the Golden Gophers would enter the break with, 16 or 18.
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